Life expectancy has increased by almost three years for men and two years for women over the past decade, according to a report published today by the Registrar General for Scotland.
Based on statistics covering 2008-2010, the report shows that life expectancy is now 75.8 years for men and 80.4 years for women in Scotland.
Registrar General for Scotland George MacKenzie said:
"This report shows that life expectancy continues to vary widely across Scotland.
"The highest life expectancy is in East Dunbartonshire Council area and lowest in Glasgow City Council area, for both for men and women. People living in rural areas, in general, live longer than those in towns.
"Men in the least deprived areas of Scotland may live 13.2 years longer than those in the most deprived areas while women in the least deprived areas can expect to live 8.9 years longer than those in the most deprived."
The key points in this report for 2008-2010 are:
At birth
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Life expectancy was 75.8 years for men and 80.4 years for women, although there were considerable variations in different areas of Scotland.
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Male and female life expectancy was highest in East Dunbartonshire Council area and lowest in Glasgow City Council area. Males in East Dunbartonshire can expect to live for 79.4 years, nearly eight years longer than in Glasgow City (71.6 years). Females in East Dunbartonshire can expect to live for 82.7 years, nearly five years longer than in Glasgow City (78.0 years).
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Life expectancy at birth was highest for males in accessible rural areas (78.3 years) where they can expect to live nearly four years longer than males in large urban areas, who have a life expectancy at birth of 74.5 years. Female life expectancy at birth was highest in remote rural areas (82.2 years), more than two years longer than in large urban areas where it was lowest (79.8 years).
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Life expectancy is higher where deprivation is lower. Males in the 10 per cent least deprived areas of Scotland can expect to live for 81.4 years, 13.2 years longer than males in the 10 per cent most deprived areas (68.2 years). Females in the 10 per cent least deprived areas can expect to live for 84.6 years, nearly nine years longer than those in 10 per cent most deprived areas (75.7 years).
Compared with the UK and Europe
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Scottish males and females have the lowest life expectancy at birth within the UK. Male life expectancy is 2.4 years lower than the UK average and female life expectancy is 1.9 years lower.
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In Scotland, males and females can expect to live shorter lives (by 2.7 years and 2.1 years respectively) than in England, where male and female life expectancy is the highest in the UK.
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Amongst European Union (EU) countries, male life expectancy was highest in Sweden (79.4 years), 3.6 years higher than in Scotland. Female life expectancy was highest in France (85.0 years), 4.6 years higher than in Scotland.
Changes over time
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Male and female life expectancy has continued to rise across Scotland, by nearly three years since the period 1998-2000 for males and by two years for females.
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The biggest improvements in male life expectancy were in Argyll and Bute Council area (3.9 years), Highland NHS Board area (3.7 years) and Mid Highland Community Partnership area (five years).
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The biggest improvements in female life expectancy were in City of Edinburgh Council area, increasing by 2.9 years, Lothian Health Board area, increasing by 2.6 years and Edinburgh Community Health Partnership area, increasing by 2.9 years.
At age 65
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Males in Scotland could expect to live for a further 16.8 years and females a further 19.3 years.
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East Dunbartonshire Council area had the highest male life expectancy at age 65 (18.9 years), 4.6 years higher than in Glasgow City, where it was lowest at 14.3 years. Female life expectancy at age 65 was also highest in East Dunbartonshire (21.1 years) and lowest in Glasgow City (17.8 years), a difference of 3.3 years.
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